交織著堅持與落寞：當代應用人類學的微燭和巨光

Insistent Intention and Melancholy State: On Struggling Development in History of Applied Anthropology

謝世忠(Shih-Chung Hsieh)

《華人應用人類學學刊》 1卷1期 (2012/06) Pp. 1-26

https://doi.org/10.6290/CJAA.2012.0101.01

摘要

本文大致可分三大部分。其一，敘述應用人類學為政治效勞的首嚐不愉悅經驗，終而造成研究實踐者必須不停地檢省學史，爾後再闡釋與前不同的應用新意。其二，說明發展人類學、公共人類學、以及行動人類學的出現與熱門，此些人類學分科的現身，正反映著學界隨時有人努力掙脫人類學必須是「純學理」的枷鎖。其三，人類學在公共政策、生態環境、公衛醫學、介入愛滋、以及災難倫理等範疇內的研究參與成果非凡，值得引介。後兩部分讓人感覺到應用人類學的希望無窮，但，第一部分卻可能又次拉回曾經飽受批判的過去。那麼，應用人類學帶給人類學門甚至整體人類的貢獻是「閃耀」亦或「燭黯」？應用、發展、公共、及行動等分科研究參與領域，均強調學者自身應加入在地，啟發地方，實踐知識。換句話說，「公共性」或「公共利益」成了大家的基本公約數，利他精神充分展現。公共性價值的議題既能突顯，咸信眾人可獲有更多接觸具象人類學的機會。人類學走入社會，嘉惠人群，或許不再只是空想。應用人類學起碼的學科生命仿若微燭，細細纖體，卻從不曾自棄。今天的公共利益主軸，在在顯現應用人類學的耀芒巨光，終將廣體放射，貢獻世界。

關鍵字

應用人類學 ； 發展人類學 ； 行動人類學 ； 公共人類學 ； 利他精神

並列摘要

What do most of the applied anthropologists make efforts at present? Are they facing some unsolvable problems? Is there any opportunity for applied anthropology to have well-development? In this paper I have described stories of scholars on their persistent contribution of conducting applied anthropology, and that reflects crucial significance in history of anthropology.This paper has been divided into three main parts. Firstly I argue that applied anthropologists cannot help reviewing and reflecting their own academic history for emphasizing contemporary new ideas which are totally different from previous experiences of working with colonial administration and state warfare. Secondly unbroken efforts from academic community throughout several decades evidently enlighten people to establish various sub-fields of anthropology such as anthropology of development, public anthropology, and action anthropology that all have been recognized as special field close to applied anthropology recently. Lastly enormous contributions on public policy, ecological environment, public health, AIDS concerns, disaster study, and research ethics are worthy to recommend for all. The last two parts seem to grant hope no bounds, however the first one whereas possibly makes people thinking of unpleasant past of doing applied anthropology. We thus may ask what applied anthropology contributes human being up to, brilliant or dim?Fortunately in our understanding no matter what you call ”applied,” ”development,” ”public” or ”action,” most of anthropologists who participate those relevant fields have focused on publicity or public interest since late 20th Century. In other words altruism becomes a shared or universal value among almost all pan-applied anthropologists at this very moment. It is not an illusion any more for bringing anthropology into real life of human and providing valuable applied knowledge and ways of practice to any people the researchers concern. Therefore I believe that applied anthropology will be widely appreciated by members of anthropological community globally in the near future because what it performs is exactly what people need.

並列關鍵字

applied anthropology ； anthropology of development ； action anthropology ； public anthropology ； altruism